Am I taking the right course of action?

[FLYYUL]

I just placed an order on Dr.Lee's website.

I ordered:
-5% minoxidil
-5% spironolactone
-New DHT shampoo combining Nizoral/Tgel solutions.

I have an appointment with a derm on the 13th, and cannot wait too much longer to see more hair fallout.

Im a beginner, so is this the right course of action?

 

[Bob_Marley]

Perfect.

Now if you can handle propecia, TAKE IT. It will probably do more than all those combined.

 

[Rage]

I agree.. it may not grow your lost hair back fully, but it will keep what you have!

 

[NilesTilden]

Sounds like a swell start. I'd maybe hold off on using the spironolactone for a few months into minoxidil. The 5% spironolactone goes on after minoxidil. I guess Lee doesn't see a problem with that, but I wonder if it might interefere with minoxidil absorbtion. Maybe wait an hour or so after applying minoxidil if you use them together.

I'd also wait 6 months to a year (depending on effectiveness of minoxidil) before starting on propecia (if you plan to use it at some point). That way, assuming you respond well to minoxidil, you'll know how much it does for you before adding a new treatment. minoxidil results are said to plateau between 1-2 years use.

Fight On, Hair Warrior!

 

[The Gardener]

Flyyul,

You ordered the right stuff, but I do have a bit of advice for you. Dr Lee's minoxidil is expensive as compared to the ordinary minoxidil you can get on sale at grocery stores or as a generic. If minoxidil starts to work for you, I would really consider at least trying out a bottle of the normal minoxidil just to see if you can work with it. Normal minoxidil, and Dr Lee's, both have the same amount of minoxidil in them and both work equally effectively, but the normal minoxidil will save you money over the long run.

The reason why Dr Lee's stuff is more expensive is that his formula is a lot less greasy and dries faster than the normal stuff. In my own regimen, I use Dr Lee's only during the mornings when faster drying time is important, and use normal minoxidil at night when I don't care about it as much. It saves money. Just something to consider.

Also, I am not sure what kind of balding pattern you have, but you might be dissappointed with the spironolactone 5%. It comes in a cream which is great for scalp patches that are truly bald, but sometimes gets messy when applying it to thin areas where you are not bald, but just have less hair. If it is a problem, switch down to the spironolactone 2%. The 2% comes in a liquid form which is a lot easier to apply when there is hair in the way. Just an FYI to remind you of your options.

Glad you are here, you got the right stuff! Let us know how it goes...

 

[roman83]

if you respond to minoxidil and get good regrowth, do you gotta use minoxidil for the rest of your life to keep it? or does even the effects of minoxidil die off along with your minoxidil dependent hair?

 

[roman83]

if you respond to minoxidil and get good regrowth, do you gotta use minoxidil for the rest of your life to keep it? or does even the effects of minoxidil die off along with your minoxidil dependent hair?

 

[The Gardener]

If you stop any of these treatments, minoxidil, finasteride, spironolactone, any of them.. you will lose your gains. minoxidil is the most dramatic, though. Stop finasteride and you'll lose your gains in a year. Stop minoxidil, and you'll lose your gains in a few months.

This is why when some people come onto this board with exotic hairloss regimens that have 20 components to them, I try to remind them that there is a lifestyle consideration involved. Keep it simple and cheap, find out what works and then stick with it. If you throw the kitchen sink at male pattern baldness, and you get results... you don't know which component is doing the heavy lifting and which components are simply wasting your time and money.

 

[Wezz]

use minoxidil 2x for 1-2 years ... and then once a day, which is not really that bad

and ofcourse maybe you dont have to use for lifetime, maybe a treatment will come out that solves everything so nothing is for lifetime... :wink:

 

[The Gardener]

VERY good points, Wezz.

 

[roman83]

Thanks for the info, good to know that i can stay on it for along time, im getting very good resluts and im only on 2% minoxidil right now, moveing up to 5% rather soon though. I have pictures, be sure to post them later, i want more of a dramatic approach so im hopeing my hair can get even better.